Firearms Retailer Code of Conduct Act of 2020
This bill establishes requirements for federal firearms licensees (e.g., gun dealers) and their employees regarding certain business practices, training, and certification. It also prohibits licensees from transferring firearms to certain individuals, including straw purchasers, gun traffickers, intoxicated individuals, or individuals at risk of harming themselves or others.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7977 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7977
To require federally licensed firearms manufacturers, importers, and
dealers and their employees to undergo annual training to be eligible
to sell a firearm, to require a notice to be posted at retail firearms
locations that describes the signs of unlawful firearms purchases, to
require such licensees to maintain a minimum level of business
liability insurance, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
August 7, 2020
Ms. Mucarsel-Powell (for herself, Ms. Kelly of Illinois, Mr. Deutch,
Mr. Cicilline, Mr. Langevin, Mr. Swalwell of California, and Mr. Crow)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require federally licensed firearms manufacturers, importers, and
dealers and their employees to undergo annual training to be eligible
to sell a firearm, to require a notice to be posted at retail firearms
locations that describes the signs of unlawful firearms purchases, to
require such licensees to maintain a minimum level of business
liability insurance, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Firearms Retailer Code of Conduct
Act of 2020''.
SEC. 2. CODE OF CONDUCT FOR FIREARMS MANUFACTURERS, IMPORTERS, AND
DEALERS.
(a) In General.--Section 923 of title 18, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(m)(1)(A) The Attorney General shall annually make available to
each licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, and licensed dealer, and
each employee of such a licensee who is authorized to engage in the
transfer of firearms or ammunition in the course of the firearms
business to unlicensed persons, a training course in the conduct of
firearm transfers.
``(B) The training course shall describe Federal law governing
firearms transfers, and cover, at a minimum, the following matters:
``(i) How to recognize and identify straw purchasers and
fraudulent activity.
``(ii) The indicators that a person is attempting to
purchase a firearm illegally.
``(iii) How to recognize and identify indicators that an
individual intends to use a firearm for unlawful purposes.
``(iv) How to recognize and identify indicators that an
individual intends to use a firearm for self-harm.
``(v) How to prevent theft or burglary of firearms and
ammunition.
``(vi) How to respond in the circumstances described in
clauses (i) through (v), and the applicable reporting
requirements.
``(vii) Other reasonable business practices that the
Attorney General determines will deter gun trafficking, or
deter the provision of a firearm to those who indicate an
intent to use a firearm for unlawful purposes or for self-harm.
``(C) The training course shall include an examination with not
less than 20 questions derived from the course materials and intended
to confirm that a course participant has learned the information
covered by the course. To receive certification of completion of the
course, a participant must answer at least 70 percent of the
examination questions correctly.
``(D) Not less frequently than annually, the Attorney General shall
review the training course materials, and revise them as necessary.
``(E) On successful completion of the training course by a
participant--
``(i) the participant shall attest to his or her
participation in the course;
``(ii) the participant shall attest to his or her receipt
of the course materials;
``(iii) if the participant is not a licensed manufacture,
licensed importer, or licensed dealer, the participant has
submitted to the national instant criminal background check
system established under section 103 of the Brady Handgun
Violence Prevention Act sufficient information to enable the
system to determine whether the participant is prohibited by
subsection (g) or (n) of section 922 or State law from
receiving a firearm; and
``(iv) if the system has determined that the participant is
not so prohibited, the Attorney General shall immediately issue
to the participant, through United States mail or electronic
means, a certificate which indicates successful completion of
the training course and includes a unique certification number,
both of which shall expire 2 years after issuance unless
renewed.
``(F) The Attorney General shall--
``(i) create and maintain a database which identifies each
individual to whom such a certificate is issued, the date the
certificate is issued, the date the certificate expires, and
the unique certification number on the certificate;
``(ii) make readily available to persons licensed under
this chapter and Federal, State, and local law enforcement
authorities, on request, the certification status of current or
potential employees;
``(iii) on a monthly basis, provide to the Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives a complete list of
the certificates issued under subparagraph (E) that have
expired or been renewed since the most recent prior provision
of information, if any, to the system under this clause.
``(G) Each licensee referred to in subparagraph (A) shall keep--
``(i) a copy of any certificate issued to the licensee
under subparagraph (E); and
``(ii) a copy of any such certificate issued to any
employee of the licensee, throughout the duration of
employment.
``(H) Beginning 545 days after the date of the enactment of this
subsection, it shall be unlawful for such a licensee or an employee of
such a licensee to transfer a firearm or ammunition, unless the
licensee or employee, as the case may be, has been issued a certificate
under this paragraph which has not expired.
``(2) In the course of firearms business with a person who is not
such a licensee, such a licensee--
``(A) shall not transfer a firearm to an individual if the
licensee or an employee of the licensee knows or has reasonable
cause to know that the individual is a straw purchaser or a gun
trafficker;
``(B) shall not transfer a firearm or ammunition to an
individual if the licensee or an employee of the licensee knows
or has reasonable cause to know that the individual is
intoxicated;
``(C) shall not transfer a firearm or ammunition to an
individual if the licensee or an employee of the licensee knows
or has reasonable cause to know that the individual will
attempt to harm the individual or others with the firearm or
ammunition;
``(D) shall not transfer a firearm to an individual not
paying in United States currency, unless the identity of the
individual matches the name on the payment method used by the
individual; and
``(E) immediately notify the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms and Explosives and local law enforcement authorities
if the licensee or an employee of the licensee knows or has
reasonable cause to know that the individual has engaged or
attempted to engage in a straw purchase or gun trafficking.
``(3)(A) The Attorney General shall make available to each licensee
referred to in paragraph (1)(A) written protocols which--
``(i) outline the indicators of straw purchasing and gun
trafficking, including the presence of a prospective firearm
transferee who--
``(I) is accompanied by 1 or more individuals;
``(II) is communicating with other individuals by
telephone or other means;
``(III) is buying multiple firearms;
``(IV) has been the subject of a crime gun trace;
``(V) has purchased a firearm in the preceding 30
days; or
``(VI) otherwise indicates that a firearm is being
obtained for another person;
``(ii) instruct employees to attempt to ascertain whether a
prospective firearm transferee is lawfully purchasing a
firearm, including by asking questions of the prospective
firearm transferee (including whether he or she intends to
transfer the firearm to another person); and
``(iii) inform employees about how to report a suspected
fraudulent firearm purchase to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms and Explosives.
``(B) Beginning 545 days after the date of the enactment of this
subsection, each such licensee shall--
``(i) obtain the written protocols described in
subparagraph (A); and
``(ii) during all business hours, display the written
protocols at each point of sale in the firearms business of the
licensee, in a manner that is clearly visible to all employees
of the business.
``(4) Each licensee referred to in paragraph (1)(A) of this
subsection shall maintain general business and liability insurance as
described in subsection (d)(1)(F)(iv) during each day of a calendar
month, unless the licensee has certified to the Attorney General, on
the 1st day of that month, that the licensee--
``(A) did not transfer more than 20 firearms in the 12-
month period that precedes the date of the certification; and
``(B) expects to transfer not more than 20 firearms in the
12-month period that begins with that date.''.
(b) Deadline for Development of Firearm Transfer Training Course.--
Within 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the
Attorney General shall develop the training course provided for in
section 923(m)(1) of title 18, United States Code.
(c) Deadline for Development of Written Business Protocols for
Firearms Sales.--Within 180 days after the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Attorney General shall develop the written protocols
provided for in section 923(m)(3) of title 18, United States Code.
(d) Business Liability Insurance Certification Required in
Application for Firearms License.--Section 923(d)(1)(F) of title 18,
United States Code, is amended--
(1) by striking ``and'' at the end of clause (ii)(II); and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(iv) the applicant has applied for, and will not
conduct the business before the applicant has received,
a general business and liability insurance policy from
an insurance company licensed to do business in the
State in which the licensed premises is located, which
provides coverage for damages for the negligent or
unlawful transfer of a firearm in an amount of at least
$1,000,000, unless the applicant certifies in the
application that the applicant expects to transfer to
persons not licensed under this chapter not more than
20 firearms per year; and''.
(e) Validation of Licensee and Employee Certifications.--Section
922(t)(1) of such title is amended--
(1) by striking ``and'' at the end of subparagraph (B)(ii);
(2) by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (C)
and inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(D) a unique certification number has been issued to the
transferor under section 923(m)(1)(E)(iv) and has not expired,
and the transferor has validated that number with the
system.''.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
Section 921(a) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by
adding at the end the following:
``(36) The term `straw purchase' means the purchase of a firearm by
an individual who conceals, or intends to conceal, that the purchase is
being made on behalf of a third party who is identified or not yet
identified. The term shall not include a bona fide gift to a person who
is not prohibited by law from possessing or receiving a firearm. For
purposes of the preceding sentence, a gift to a person is not a bona
fide gift if the person has offered or given the purchaser a service or
thing of value to acquire the firearm for the person.
``(37) The term `straw purchaser' means a person engaged in a straw
purchase.
``(38) The term `gun trafficking' means the knowing acquisition,
transfer, or attempted acquisition or transfer of a firearm for
purposes of unlawful commerce by a licensed or unlicensed person.''.
SEC. 4. PENALTIES.
Section 924 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding
at the end the following:
``(q)(1) With respect to each violation of subparagraph (A), (B),
or (C) of section 923(m)(2), a person shall be fined under this title,
imprisoned not more than 18 months, or both.
``(2) With respect to each violation of section 923(m)(2)(D), a
person shall be fined not more than $2,500, imprisoned not more than 1
year, or both.
``(3) With respect to each violation of paragraph (1)(G) or (3)(B)
of section 923(m), a licenced importer, licensed manufacturer or
licensed dealer shall be fined not more than $500.
``(4)(A) With respect to each violation of paragraph (1)(H) or
(2)(E) of section 923(m), the Attorney General shall, after notice and
opportunity for hearing--
``(i) suspend for not more than 6 months, or revoke, the
license under which the firearms transfer involved was
conducted; or
``(ii) subject the licensee to a civil penalty of not more
than $2,500.
``(B) With respect to each violation of section 923(m)(4) the
Attorney General shall, after notice and opportunity for hearing--
``(i) suspend for not more than 6 months, or revoke, the
license under which the firearms transfer involved was
conducted; or
``(ii) subject the licensee to a civil penalty of not more
than $10,000.''.
SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.
The amendments made by this Act shall take effect 90 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
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